One More Chance
by jmerlinfan08
Summary: Modern AU. Arthur and Gwen have known each other since they were kids. They fell in love when they got older and their relationship was approved by all, even by their parents, Uther and Thomas. But that wasn't the problem. Because of his uncle's influence, Arthur broke up with Gwen and this made a lot of people mad at him. After all this time, will he be able to fix everything?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! I know that my first story isn't finished but don't worry, I will finish it soon. I've just been very busy lately so that's why I can't really log in regularly and post another chapter. I don't seem to know how to finish my first story so I began writing this new fan fic. So this is the first chapter. The other chapters will be up soon when I finish transferring them onto my computer. Hope you like this story and please review! Thanks :)**

"I'm sorry Guinevere but, I think this isn't going to work." Arthur said staring into Gwen's eyes deeply, feeling regretful and confused at the same time.

"What do you mean this isn't going to work? I seem to recall that you were always the one who told me that no matter what happens, we will always be together. And now… what are you saying?" Gwen said as tears fall on her cheek, feeling confused and very hurt with Arthur's sudden confrontation.

"I didn't know what I was thinking. We were young and stupid then. Now, we're old enough to be responsible and choose what is right. We have to start thinking of other things before we think about ourselves." Arthur said seriously, looking away from Gwen's eyes. He knew that he could never find it in himself to hurt her but now, he thought that this is something he had to do… no matter how painful it may be for them both.

"Who are you?... you've been talked into this, haven't you?" she guesses, knowing how easily he could be swayed with words when it came to his uncle, Agravaine, who happened to have a problem with Gwen being in Arthur's life.

"I haven't been talked into anything, I'm old enough to make my own decisions, Guinevere." he said, looking back into her eyes.

"And you decided we can't be together, is that it? After everything we've been through you're just going to throw it all away?" Gwen asked as more tears fall on her face, making no effort of wiping them away and looked deeply into Arthur's eyes.

"Yes… and… to be perfectly clear…" the next words that came out of his mouth were hard for him to say, but again, he felt like he had to. It was his uncle's opinion, it's what mattered to him most.

"I never loved you." hearing those words from his mouth were like a thousand knives that hit Gwen's fragile heart. She knew that he was easily persuaded, he was easily influenced and confused… but she never thought that he would say such things to her, no matter the situation, even if it was a lie.

Because of his words, Arthur earned a hard slap from Gwen, who was now letting the tears fall freely on her face while she looked at him intently. She then walked straight to the door because she knew that she could no longer control her emotions. Arthur on the other hand, was just about to stop her from leaving, when she stopped in front of the door. She looked back at him over her shoulder.

"Don't let anyone tell you what to do. You said you're old enough to make your own decisions, be true to your words. Only then will you true to yourself."

For the last time, she looked into his eyes and turns to the door, leaving him, taking in her words… realizing what he just did to the woman he loved so much.

1 week later

"So you just used me to make your reputation known to the world? What am I to you? A puppet you can pull on your strings?" Arthur asks Agravaine furiously, being able to learn that he was just used merely as an instrument by his uncle to make a name for himself.

Agravaine looks back innocently, knowing inside that he had been caught.

"What on earth are you talking about Arthur?" Agravainec asks him, trying to feign innocence.

"Just stop pretending like you don't know what I'm talking about uncle!" Arthur shouts as loud as he could, not caring if someone hears them outside the office.

Agravaine stares at him for a moment, knowing that there's no point in hiding it now. "Fine! I did it because wanted to be above your tyrant of a father. All my life I've been working under him! It's now time I step up for myself." he pointed out loudly and seriously.

"You're such a selfish bastard! Do you know how many people who tried to warn me? Even my father knew what you were doing but I didn't believe him. I didn't believe any of them because I thought that you wouldn't be able to do this. But it seems I was wrong. I was wrong to treat them that way. I was wrong to believe you! You cost me Guinevere! She as the only woman I ever loved and I just shut her out because of you. You turned me against everybody. What kind of person are you?" Arthur accused him furiously.

"It's always been the kind who always wants to be above all others." Agravaine stated fiercely.

"You're hopeless! I don't even know why I trusted you. From now on, I never want anything to do with you, now your on your own. Don't ever show your face to me again do you hear me? From now on, I no longer have an uncle!"

Arthur walks to the door and shuts it loudly, leaving Agravaine alone and stunned by his words.

Arthur drives to Merlin's house after he begged Tom and Uther for forgiveness over the phone. All he had to do now is to beg for forgiveness to all of his friends who tried to warn him about Agravaine.

Arthur comes up to the door and knocks loudly.

From the inside, they all heard the knock and they knew that it was none other than Arthur.

"Maybe my clueless brother finally realized that he owes us all a big fat apology… especially to Gwen." Morgana pointed out, knowing how her best friend was hurt, especially by her brother.

"Yeah, I think he finally knew the truth about your uncle. The arrogant prat learned his lesson." Merlin said, looking for a sign of permission to let him in.

"But let's not forget how he hurt Gwen. He didn't even explain why he broke up with her." Gwaine reasoned, being so protective like a brother when it comes to Gwen.

"But he still is our friend and we wouldn't be until we forgive him… well… except for Gwen." Percival reasoned out to all of them: Merlin, Morgana, Gwaine, Leon.

Morgana sighed deeply, deciding for all the other men and looked at them.

"Alright, fine. But… if he does something like this again, you're alone on that one, Merlin. We're not going to be a oart of it anymore." Morgana stated strictly while looking at Merlin, who gulped loudly and felt a little nervous.

"Understood." Merlin said as he goes to the door to open up their miserable friend.

Leon later speaks in between.

"Wait, what will we say to him when he asks about Gwen?"

His question made everyone look at him, knowing that Arthur would be more miserable when he knew where Gwen was.

"Well I guess we'll have to tell him. It's not like he'll follow Gwen all the way to New York." Merlin scoffed and shrugged casually.

"But… he can." Percival intercepted.

"Well that's up to him. He knows what he has to do." Morgana says casually.

Merlin opens the door and speaks up before Arthur could.

He puts his hand to a halt position "Before you say anything, which is to be your big apology I assume, come in. all of them are here." He goes inside and Arthur follows him and closes the door.

On their way to the living room, he pulls Merlin's shirt from the back which made him stop to look at Arthur.

"What?" Merlin asks annoyingly.

"Is Guinevere in there?" Arthur whispered, scared and nervous that Gwen would be very mad at him because of the pain he caused her.

"You'll see." Merlin says plainly.

They enter the living room and everybody stares at Arthur, who stares at them back, feeling quite nervous but doesn't really know why.

"Hello dear brother. It's been far too long. Have you finally come to realize how much of an ass you were to all of us?" Morgana speaks first and smiles at him sarcastically, not even bothering to stand up.

Arthur looked insulted and opened his mouth to answer to Morgana's statement but then closed it and looked down on his feet because he knew that she was right to say it.

Arthur sighed deeply and nodded "Yes, I have. I seriously don't have any explanation for my actions but I do know that what I did was wrong and that it hurt all of you. I shut you all out of my life ever since… well… ever since-"

"Ever since you decided to stand by Agravaine. Ever since you chose to be his little puppet." Morgana finished, looking right through his eyes.

"Yes. And now I know that all of you were right. You were right all along… and I didn't listen. It was wrong of me to not trust you. I know it's not a good explanation but, it's all I have…" Arthur looks at them "… I'm sorry. I am very sorry… to all of you. I know that you can't forgive me that easily but, the least you could do is hear me out. Please."

Arthur finished his apology, looking into their eyes, searching for a hint of accepting him back into their lives, hint of sympathy.

After a while, they look at each other and back to Arthur, who was still standing up, waiting patiently for someone to speak up.

Morgana stands up and walked toward him, staring him in the eyes. Before Arthur knew it, he was pulled into a tight hug by Morgana and once he realized this, he hugged her back.

"Welcome back, Arthur." Morgana whispered into his ear and finally pulled away from him. Once again before he knew it, he was slapped by Morgana in the face.

Arthur touched his cheek "Morgana! What the hell was that for?" He shouted, eyes shocked.

"That… was for the absolute hurt you've caused Gwen." Morgana said simply stating the fact.

"I guess I deserved that." Arthur said quietly. He looked back at the other guys.

"But in all seriousness… am I forgiven?" he asked hopefully.

Morgana looked back at them and they all looked at Arthur again.

"Yeah, I guess you are. Besides, we thought you already suffered enough, for you knowing that we were actually mad at you." Merlin said casually as he shrugged. He looked over to Gwaine, Leon, Percival, smirking "Well, what are you waiting for? I thought you were going to give him a hug?" he asked, gesturing them to Arthur, whose eyes were getting wide and tensed.

"No, no, no, no, no! Merlin!" Arthur shouted annoyingly as the guys hugged him tightly and they all began to laugh.

"It's nice to have you back, princess." Gwaine said as he smirked at him, knowing that Arthur was always annoyed when he called him that but now, he smiled and laughed.

"It's good to be back." Arthur said happily and thought for a moment "Thank you, all of you." he looked at them happily.

After a moment, Morgana cleared her throat.

"Well, now that that's over, I'd like to get back to out little gathering and enjoy so come on." she said smiling slightly, feeling like she wasn't done talking to Arthur yet. Like she wants Arthur to be lectured directly.

As they all sit down, Arthur looked around and asked a question where everyone in the room fell silent and looked at him.

"So… where's Guinevere?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey Guys! Presenting chapter 2. Hope you guys like it and please review!**

Everybody stared at Arthur sadly, not being able to decide on what to tell him.

"Come on… we should tell him, I mean there's no point in hiding it anyway." Merlin shrugged, knowing that Arthur's misery won't do anything to bring Gwen back in London.

They all sighed and Morgana decides that she should be the one telling him since everyone else is staring at her.

Morgana turned to Arthur "Alright… I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer…" she stared at him deeply "The reason why this is so hard to tell you is that we knew that you would get hurt… so much. We even promised Gwen that we wouldn't tell you where she was but here we are, telling you anyway because we care about you."

Morgana sighed again, deeply this time and turned to the guys again before turning to Arthur.

"Gwen… left for New York yesterday." she finally said out loud, looking at how shocked Arthur is by the news.

"What?... she left the country without saying goodbye?" he asked softly, eyes about to burst into tears, not wanting to believe what he just heard.

Morgana suddenly felt a little bit of annoyance to Arthur but again, she lets the feeling pass by.

"She said her goodbyes to us- umm… I'm sorry, that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that... it's more than just a simple goodbye… she said that she's not coming back. It's goodbye… for good." Morgana said, a little relieved that Arthur now knew where her best friend was, knowing this could crush him… inside and out.

Arthur was speechless with Morgana's last phrase. It kept repeating in his mind, realizing that fact that he might be so lost without Gwen by his side, realizing how much of an idiot he had been to let her go. After a thoughtful moment, he was brought back by Merlin's voice.

"Arthur." Merlin called.

Arthur looked at him.

"Are you alright?" Merlin asked and clapped his back.

Arthur just stared at Merlin, not saying anything, still taking in Morgana's words a while ago. He then suddenly turned to her and spoke.

"For good? Are you sure? She has no plan of coming back?" he looked at all of them, who didn't answer him. They just stared at him back.

Leon shrugged and answered him after a moment.

"She said she wasn't sure if it's for good but, she did say that she was going to stay there for a long time. So, for all we know, we just have to wish the best for her… on whatever she decides." He said casually.

Gwaine was the next one who spoke "He's right. We all know that Gwen is a very important person in our lives because of all the things she's done for us… I think it's time to let her choose what she thinks is best for herself." he said sadly, feeling a little guilty.

Everybody knew that Gwen was a kind and gentle person. Anyone can't help liking her when he/she gets to know her. she had the tendency of thinking of others before herself. She always helped people, but she never got to help herself. She thought of what's best for other people but, she never had the chance to think of herself.

Arthur closed his eyes, slowly letting tears fall from his eyes, but making the effort to wipe them off his face.

"I know I don't deserve to say this… but… I can't accept that I may never see her again." Arthur said as more tears trickle down his face.

"Well it is your fault." Morgana said casually and shrugged as if it was no big deal.

She noticed that everyone stared at her. At this point, she once again felt the urge to lecture Arthur.

"What? It's true. Look… I am truly sorry, but I have to say this out loud… if it wasn't for Arthur here, Gwen would still be here. She wouldn't be a thousand miles away from us right now." Morgana pointed out annoyingly, realizing that she can no longer control her outburst towards Arthur.

She looks at him and starts rambling at him.

"Because of you, not only did I lose a fashion designer by my side, but I lost a sister and a best friend. Now, could you tell me what she did to deserve this? Gwen is the most kind and loyal person that you'd ever meet and she was more than a friend to all of us. And you would leave her at the mercy of her own misery. You knew that we were the only family she had aside from her father… since we were kids. We've known her all our lives and we all accepted your relationship as a couple… but then you break up with her and you hurt her like this. She's been through a lot of pain by the loss of Aunt Anna and Elyan. And instead of being there for her, you've just become an addition to her pain. Strangely enough I was relieved that she chose you, because I thought you cared so much about her that you could never find it in yourself to hurt her and say to her face that you never loved her but then, you did it anyway!... You're just lucky Tom and Uther helped her to get away while she had the chance ." she rambled disappointingly and annoyingly and breathed deeply.

"Father? He helped her to leave the country?" Arthur asked, very shocked to know that even his father helped Gwen to get away.

"Of course he did! He couldn't deny Gwen anything. He treated her like me, like his own daughter, why shouldn't he help her? No father wants to see his daughter hurt this way because of a man she loved with all her heart… unfortunately, that man had to be you!" Morgana spat out fiercely.

Arthur looked down again and fell quiet, realizing that he had no right to complain about how his father helped Gwen.

Gwen took up fashion designing at University. She never felt alone because she always had a family. She had Morgana and other people who supported her. And she had Arthur to be her inspiration. Everything was falling into place for Gwen but, behind all these wonderful things, meant a great pain for her in return. It always fell back to her and her father. Gwen's mother, Anna and her brother, Elyan suffered from a plane crash on their way home to London when she was five years old.

For her, even if it was just her and Thomas or "Tom" as people like to call him, she had another family to hang on to. She has Uther to treat like her second father and everyone else around her. but now, she felt the same kind of pain when Arthur broke her heart.

Morgana sighed again deeply and looked into her brother's eyes, slowly trying to calm herself down.

"Look, we all know that you've been with Gwen for quite some time but, I just have to ask… Did you really love her?" she asked with a hint of a suspicious tone.

It was Arthur's turn to be shocked as all eyes turn to him.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I loved her." he looked into the distance and continued

"As a matter of fact, I loved her too much that it hurt us both. I never stopped loving her, I still do and I always will. I love her... so much. And it hurts… to know that she left because of me. I don't even know why I said I never loved her. All I know is that I hurt her and I didn't have the chance to apologize. I might never have the chance because I don't know when she'll come back. Or if she'll come back. " Arthur said softly and looked down on his feet, wiping the tears that appeared on his face.

By this time, Morgana has calmed down, finished with lecturing Arthur how he was wrong to hurt Gwen, now feeling sorry for her brother. Even if he was an arrogant prat, she loved him dearly and she hates seeing him hurt like this, even if it was his own fault.

She sighed deeply, sat beside Arthur and hugged him, slowly rubbing his back, trying to make him feel better… somehow. After a while, she pulled away and looked at him, holding his shoulders.

"Arthur… we know that this is very hard for you to accept but still, you have to realize that she did this because of you. She wanted to get away from all the hurt she's been through. Now, whether you decide to wait for her or just move on, we'll still be here for you. It's your choice, because it's what we did with Gwen. We tried to stop her but, she wouldn't hear any of it. So we decided to support her in her choice to leave… because she thinks that it's for the best." she soothed Arthur's arms and continued "Whatever you decide, we'll be here for you. Never forget that." she finishes her statement with a smile at his brother and a hug before she pulls away and goes back to her seat.

They all stay quiet for a while, thinking about what Arthur would do now that Gwen left the country. Merlin then spoke up to take away some tension in the room.

"So… what are you going to do?" he asked, looking at Arthur intently.

Arthur looked at him quickly then turned away "I don't know." he said as he put his head in his hands, elbows leaning on his knees.

"Don't worry… You'll figure it out." Percival spoke up and offered him a small smile.

"I know I will… I just don't know when I'll be able to figure it out." Arthur said as he looked into the distance, thinking if he'll ever get over the love of his life.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! presenting Chapter 3 :) and don't worry 'cause Chapter 4 will be up soon. Hope you like it and please review.**

* * *

After 5 and a half months…

Ever since the break up and chaos that Arthur caused, everything seemed to go back to normal, except now, Gwen wasn't with them. Arthur never found the courage to follow her in New York because he thought that if he did, he would just be pushing her and that would make her even more upset with him.

After all this time, Arthur never found it in himself to move on. Every time he hung out with the gang, he only ended up looking for Gwen and will suddenly realize that she wasn't there.

However, it wasn't the same because there have been some changes such as Agravaine dying of a massive heart attack. Now, his remains were cremated and being kept in an ossuary. As for the others, knowing that it's been this long, they began to have love lives.

Just after a month, Gwaine admitted to Morgana about his kept feelings for her and hers for him, all because of jealousy and now, they actually enjoy being together. Leon and Mithian met at a formal dinner and then everything started from there. Percival and Elena met at a football game when they bumped into each other, now, they're getting to know each other. Arthur couldn't believe that even Merlin, had too, found a love interest. Merlin reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Freya when they caught a glimpse of each other while buying tickets at the movies.

All of them became happier. They had another reason to look forward to another day. All except one, and that happens to be none other than Arthur.

Ever since he broke up with Gwen, he hasn't been the same lately. H e hasn't been teasing Merlin, he's become quiet and spaced out, and he spent all his free time on work, even on weekends. He never found it in himself to go out with other women. Even if he tried to, he would call the woman by Gwen's name and just end up ruining the evening. He also didn't hang out with the guys. He just couldn't do it.

They were all starting to get worried so they all plan to cheer him up since they all work in the same building, except Morgana. She works for another agency that Uther started, which is a sister company from the main advertising agency where all the men work in. In this case, Arthur was now CEO, Merlin was his assistant, Leon was CFO, Percival and Gwaine were in a team of people who are in charge of advertisement layouts and designs. Now, Uther manages both agencies, so it makes him in charge of everything.

* * *

By this time, it's now lunch time so that means, everyone's time is free. The guys decide to visit Arthur in his office, where he usually is nowadays.

"So… would you care to tell me again why we're doing this? This cheering him up thing never works anyway. We should be having lunch, that's why this time is called 'lunch' time. Or maybe we should spend time with the ladies." Gwaine said annoyingly, looking at his watch. Strangely enough, they were all near to each other from work. Morgana and Mithian worked at the sister company agency, which happens to have a bridge on the way to main agency's building. Freya and Elena were both nurses in a hospital a few blocks away from the building.

Merlin sighed and looked over to Gwaine "For the last time, Gwaine, we're going to visit Arthur in his office and invite him for lunch… even if it never works. We have to try." he said as they made their way into Arthur's office and Merlin started knocking.

Without looking up, knowing it's them, Arthur sighed deeply "Come in." he said reluctantly.

They all come in and Gwaine was first to greet him.

"Hey princess! How's it going?" Gwaine asked with a smirk and wink.

Arthur sighed "Nice to see you too, Gwaine. Now, what is it this time? Isn't it lunch time already?" he asked, eyes never leaving the screen of his laptop, still typing his fingers away on the keyboard.

"Well, yes it is. So we thought that maybe you'd like to come with us?" Merlin asked with a grin, hoping that this time, he wouldn't turn down the offer.

"Thank you, Merlin but I have to finish these reports and if I go with you, I'll only end up being the third wheel because you all have partners and I don't so, I think it's best I'd be here, doing something productive." he said casually, still not looking at them, as if he was the only one in the room.

The guys stare at each other, Gwaine giving Merlin a look which meant 'I told you'. Merlin then gestured them to calm down , thinking of a good excuse. Percival then turned to Arthur.

"… Actually, the ladies will be having lunch of their own so, it's just us guys. So what do you say?" Percival asked, looking at him hopefully.

"That's very kind of you, Perce, but I have work to do. It's fine, you can go without me." he declined again, still not looking up.

Leon sighed and it was his turn to do the convincing "Come on, Arthur you have to relax sometime. We should go out and have fun. What about tonight at the club? It'll be just like the old times." he asked hopefully, smiling at the others, who seem to agree on his suggestion.

"Yeah, Leon's right. Get drunk and have a good time. Forget about the real world for once in your life." Gwaine chided with a smirk and wiggled his eyebrows.

In response, Arthur sighed in annoyance "That really sounds fun Gwaine but, I really don't think I should. It's still a working day until Friday so, I suggest that-' his words were cut when Merlin turned to his laptop and closed it.

"Merlin! What the hell do you think you're doing? That was a very important proposal! Now, how am I suppose to retrieve it?" Arthur complained annoyingly but then he fell quiet when Merlin ranted at him, not removing his hand on the closed laptop.

"Arthur would you just take your eyes off the laptop and look at us?!" Merlin ranted in annoyance.

Arthur finally calmed down and looked at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. He leaned on his chair and slowly spoke up.

"Fine. What is it you want to talk to me about?" Arthur asked plainly in distress, knowing that they will just try to cheer him up again.

"I don't know… how about the fact that you've been very distant lately. And let's not forget about how you've been working non-stop for the last five months… what's wrong with you? You're not the same, arrogant prat we all knew." Merlin pointed out annoyingly, with a hint of worry and sadness.

"People change all the time, Merlin." Arthur said plainly.

"But you wouldn't change for anyone or anything at all, we all knew that. What's happened now?" Merlin asked back to Arthur, who stared back at him, starting to feel the same depression he's felt for a long time, knowing that Merlin was right to say that he wouldn't change for anything or anyone. Most of the time now, he thought that he was becoming a better person. It turns out he was becoming worse. And it was all his fault.

Because he was already being cornered, Arthur thought that there was absolutely no point in hiding his problem.

"I broke up with Guinevere… that's what happened. There, are you happy now?... I hurt Guinevere and it's been five months. Five months since I've been without her. And it hurts so much because I never had the courage to go to her . To tell her that everything I said to her before was a lie." he then looked up to them and sighed "I broke up with her and it was all my fault." he said softly and looked into the distance before he continues.

"I've made a terrible mistake… you say that I have to forget the past to move on… but how can I do it when all I ever think about is her? tell me that. What's the point in loving someone who's not even sure of coming back?" he said, staring in space, not knowing what to say next.

After a while, Merlin answered his question "Gwen will be back, I'm sure. You'll just have to wait." he said reassuringly, knowing he meant it metaphorically and literally.

They all knew that Gwen be coming back for the charity gala that Uther was hosting on a Saturday night. He thought that it was the best time to schedule it that day for it was the day after Gwen came back in London and at the same time, as a celebration of the charity gala he hosted every year. Everybody knew that Gwen was coming back but then again, there's still somebody who doesn't even have a clue, and they knew why they couldn't tell him… Arthur.

* * *

Ever since Gwen left, she still made it a priority to stay in communication with all who she cared about back in London. She made it a promise that if she ever thought about coming back, she would tell them all. But there was one who she couldn't bring herself to talk to, one who she couldn't face because of anger, hatred, disappointment, and especially, hurt. And it was clearly Arthur.

During five months of being away from him, she realized that little by little, her negative emotions began to fade away, but hurt was still inside her. It was the only feeling she couldn't let go of. If she ever thought about the good days with him, it easily reminded her that those days were over. She thought that she can never get hurt like this.

Just like Arthur, Gwen spent most of her time working. Now, after five months of hard work, she finally got what she wanted. She finally became a well-known fashion designer in New York. All her fame started when she was taken as an intern in a fashion agency. She was caught sketching a design in her notebook. Oddly enough, she was caught by the head of the agency, who was intrigued and amazed by her sketch. The head asked if she can make a portfolio of her designs. After Gwen submitted the designs, the head was very much astounded and she was recommended to a new celebrity in Hollywood for a movie premiere and then everything flourished. She started her own line of clothing about 2 months ago and she's now known as one of the best fashion designers in New York City.

Of course she never failed to tell these wonderful news to the people she loves back in London. Every now and then, she would always talk to Morgana and ask how things are in London. She knew of all their love lives and they knew of her wonderful career, but with all of their conversations, she never dared to ask about Arthur. In the end, they were very happy for her and were all told that she would come back for a branch release of her clothing line and that she would make it to Uther's charity gala.

Right now, in her penthouse in New York, she sits on her bed, looking around, resting for a while from packing clothes and other things she would bring back home. Just before she stands to resume packing, her phone rings and she didn't even bother to look who it's from because she knew it was Morgana. She sat on the bed again and swiped her finger on her phone and spoke up.

"Hey Morgana." she said with a smile.

"Hey! Oh wait I'll put you on speaker… there, okay. Hi!" Morgana shouted excitingly.

"Hi." Gwen said giggling.

"Hey there, Miss New York!" Gwaine spoke loudly.

"Hey Gwaine." she answers.

"Hi Gwen! Can't wait to see you." She hears Leon shout from a distance.

"Yeah can't wait to see you all. Who are you in there?" she asks.

"It's me, Morgana, Gwaine, Perce, and Leon." she hears Merlin say.

"Oh! Hey Merlin um… where are the other girls?" she asked him, hoping to talk to them.

"They all had overtime shifts. Morgana decided to go home early since you're going to be here tomorrow, so she's planning something for you." Merlin say casually.

"I see. Morgana, you know you really don't have to." she reasoned, thinking that her arrival was no big deal but apparently for them, it is.

"But I want to so, shut it!." Morgana said, slightly annoyed that after all this time, Gwen still thinks about others than herself.

"Alright, I'm just saying." she says, giggling.

"It's just going to be a little gathering and all of us are going to be here. And it may as well be your pre-party before the gala on Saturday. It's going to be fun, trust me." Morgana says casually.

Gwen was a little alarmed when Morgana said that all of them were going to be attending this little gathering. She thought that Arthur might be there. She got nervous and scared at the moment, thinking what she would feel if she saw him again and she then fell silent.

"Gwen? Are you still there?" Morgana asked.

"I'm here." she answered back, smile faded away and staring into space.

"Good, I thought the call got disconnected." Morgana said giggling.

"Um… Morgana?" she called, knowing that what she's about to ask may raise suspicions.

"Yes?" Morgana answered, wondering why something changed in Gwen's tone of speaking.

"… Is Arthur going to be there?... I mean, it's not that I'm looking for him, I'm just wondering if he knows that I'm coming back." she said, feeling tensed at the moment. Wondering why she asked such a question.

Morgana and the guys were shocked to hear her asking about him for the first time.

"Uhh… no, you didn't want him to know you're coming back remember?" Morgana asked, looking at the others, who are now seated in the living room, listening to their conversation, wondering why she asked about Arthur all of a sudden, realizing that maybe she still cares about him.

"Oh… right. Um… I didn't." she said softly, feeling confused and a little disappointed that Arthur wasn't going to be there welcoming her after all. Thinking that maybe he's finally moved on. She shook herself out of the thought and continued

"But… why isn't he there with you? I mean, he made amends already right?" she asks, wondering and worrying at the same time.

"Well… he's at work." Merlin says, sighing deeply.

"Work? He… he's still working?" she asks, getting a little more worried, knowing that Arthur doesn't work or stay in his office for more than 10 hours. At least, that's what she knew about him 5 months ago.

"Yes, working. It's about everything he does now most of the time. He practically lives there already." Gwaine said plainly.

"I see… well, um… I'd better get back to packing. Don't want to be late tomorrow." she says casually.

"Okay. We'll be at the airport on time to pick you up. We love you, Gwen!" Morgana says, thinking why Gwen's mood changed.

Gwen giggled slightly "I love you guys, too. Can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye!" they all say in unison.

"Bye." Gwen hangs up the phone and sighed deeply.

With what she heard from Gwaine, she can't help worrying about Arthur. If he stays in his office often, then it means that it may be bad for his health because he doesn't eat much and he doesn't get any sleep. Even after five months of trying to move on and healing herself, she can't deny the fact she still loves Arthur… so much.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! So just as the same that I wrote on my other story as the author's note ("The Return of the King" please read it if you haven't yet), I'm really sorry for not posting a new chapter all because of my college life and being sick but hopefully I will be posting new stories that I made when I had time and hoping to update all the time if possible. So there you have it, Chapter 4.**

**By the way, to the Guest who had 2 reviews about me saying that I should update, I'm really sorry that I kept you waiting for so long and thank you for waiting this much just to read my story.**

**Enjoy and please review! Thank you!**

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It's 9:00 in the evening and it's been an hour since Gwen hung up the phone. Which means Arthur may as well be at home, or hopefully be at home. Usually he works from 8 am to 4 pm and 6 pm at the latest. Now, he works from 7 am to 9 pm and overnight is now the latest time that he would stay in his office.

* * *

Still in the living room, Morgana thinks that she should call Arthur because she too, was worried for her brother.

"You know, I think we should tell Arthur…" she decides, knowing that even if Gwen would hate them, they had to tell him.

"Tell him what? Tell him that Gwen's coming back tomorrow?" Merlin asked, knowing that would be complicated and possibly a disaster if Arthur knew about Gwen would be back.

"Well, why not? He deserves to know. I mean, he's still my brother and our friend, unfortunately… and I know that he messed everything up with Gwen, but we care about him and he deserves a chance to make everything right." Morgana argues, now feeling sorry for Arthur, who has changed immensely since Gwen got out of his life.

"Didn't you listen to Gwen? She said she didn't want him to know." Merlin said back to her, but deep down inside, he wanted to tell Arthur too, because he knew that deep down, Gwen still loved Arthur.

"But he should. Look, we all know that she still cares for him even if they're not together anymore, it was obvious when we talked about him over the phone. That's typical about Gwen. Once she meets you, you're already a part of her life." Leon intercepts.

"He's right." Morgana, Gwaine, and Percival says in unison, looking intently at Merlin.

"It's not that I don't want him to know, it's just that… it's Gwen. What will we say to her if she knew that Arthur knew? Who would she blame aside from us?" Merlin reasoned, being a little convinced.

"Exactly, Merlin. It's Gwen. If we explain the right reasons to her then she wouldn't be mad at us. I know her, trust me." Morgana says confidently, knowing that Gwen, doesn't stay mad at them long enough.

Merlin breathed deeply and finally agreed, thinking that Gwen would thank them later when everything is solved and when everyone's happy.

"Fine. I'll be the one to be blamed anyway." Merlin said casually.

Ever the gentleman, Merlin could never let a woman be blamed for anything , no matter how small the fault is. Just like Gwen, he would put others first before himself.

"Oh come on, Merlin. You know we're doing this for the both of them. If she comes back and feels nothing for Arthur then, we'll leave her alone on the matter. But if we see something, then we won't stop finding a way to bring them back together." Morgana said casually, suddenly feeling that Gwen might still have feeling for Arthur after all this time. Hearing her worrying voice when they mentioned that Arthur works late nowadays made her think twice.

"Wow Morgs! Never knew you wanted them back together." Gwaine said looking at her mischievously with a smirk.

"Hey!... Arthur is still my brother and I care about him. I know that he still loves Gwen and I don't like seeing him hurt. We all have to do something… even if it was his fault." Morgana said, leaning into Gwaine's embrace, her head on his shoulder. She feels sympathy for her brother, who was so energetic and fun to be with when he was with Gwen. But now, he was becoming a lonely, quiet, working robot.

As they decide on what to do now, Morgana receives a voice message. As she opens the message, she realizes that it was from Gwen. She put the message on speaker and it said: "Hey Morgs, sorry for spacing out on you but I forgot to tell you something… It's just because of what you said about Arth-...Uhhh what I meant to say was that I had an exclusive interview on "The View" on ABC and I just thought you might want to watch it. It actually has an episode replay tonight so… yeah that's it. Can't wait to see you all tomorrow. Bye!"

As the message finishes, it became more quiet than it already should. They all began looking at each other, knowing that there's still something going on with Gwen and Arthur. Not that Arthur wasn't admitting that he still loves Gwen but on the other hand, Gwen can't seem to say that she still loved Arthur.

"What. Was that?" Merlin asked slowly, feeling so frustrated with Gwen and Arthur. Knowing that they still loved each other, Merlin was frustrated because even they have to go through all the trouble just to get them back together.

"I don't know. But I have to call Arthur." Morgana said, getting her phone out of her pocket, knowing that Arthur doesn't have to hear it from her, he has to hear it from Gwen herself.

"Call him? What are you going to tell him?" Merlin intercepted, curious about why Morgana's sudden call to Arthur.

"I'm going to tell him that Gwen's coming back tomorrow…" Morgana says, typing Arthur's number leisurely, smiling with confidence.

"What?! Come on Morgana, you can't be serious. This single phone call can turn into a disaster and you know it." Merlin says with worry, knowing that he will surely be blamed for this badly.

Morgana sighed deeply and turned to Merlin, holding both his shoulders.

"Merlin, relax. Gwen can't be mad at you if she told Arthur herself that she's coming back." Morgana said, looking at Merlin once and pays her attention back to her phone.

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked her, beginning to be annoyed that she won't say it straight away.

Morgana sighed deeply, looking directly at him, dropping her hands holding the phone to her side "Merlin, Gwen's interview on television is about to start and she mentioned when she's about to come back here in London. I'm simply calling Arthur to make him watch the show and know for himself. Get the picture, darling?" she asked, sarcastically putting a hand on his face and gave him a soft slap before putting her hand up with the phone again.

Merlin realized that it was a good plan but then, he knew that all this would soon go out of control. He scowled

"Fine but this is on your conscience." Merlin said annoyingly, touching his cheek that was softly slapped by Morgana.

"Oh right, it's definitely going to be in my conscience." Morgana said with sarcasm and made no effort not to roll her eyes at him before getting the chance to finally call Arthur once and for all.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! So I just wanted to greet every one of you a Happy New Year! I know it's been literally a year since I updated this story and I'm really sorry for that, I know you must really hate me right now. I've just been really busy with college and everything with my family so right now, I'm trying to remedy the situation. It's kind of important that you read this message because I'm also promoting my two new stories "When He Forgets" and "Fight for Me" which are both one-shots although one of them is divided into 4 parts (please read them) and I'm about to post them along with this update. I'm still on vacation right now so I have the time to write again, thankfully. So here it is, presenting Chapter 5. The following chapter/s will be up soon. Hope you enjoy and please review. Thank you :D**

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Back at the Pendragon Advertisement Agency, in a huge office, at the second highest floor possible, was none other than Arthur, who was spinning his chair lazily, not having the strength to go home, thinking about what he just said to Merlin and the others. He managed to say everything that he felt for the past five months in a heartbeat. As he ponders on all of the mistakes that he made, his thoughts were interrupted by his father walking into his office.

To some people, they would think that Uther was a tyrant who didn't care about anything except his company but it turns out, those people were wrong. He cared too much about all things. He cared about what everyone thought. But most of all, he cared about his children, Arthur and Morgana. What made them happy actually made him happier. But even if it was so, it never got to the point where they both would become spoiled prats. Uther knew the right times when to discipline them. And so because of this, Uther would be considered to have done a good job in raising his children alone, without the guidance of his late wife, Ygraine. But never did Uther forget the last words of his wife: "Take care of them for me. Take care of them for us…". It was what made him try harder to be a better father to his children. He had to think about what his wife would think if he did things wrongly. Even in death, Uther still values his wife with a great deal of his heart.

Right now, Uther worried about Arthur. He worried about how broken his son was because of his recent break up. Oddly enough, even he was upset with Arthur for breaking up with Gwen, who was like a daughter to him.

As he comes inside Arthur's office, again, he tries to speak but Arthur interrupted him.

"Ar-" Uther spoke.

"Yes, father I know it's you." Arthur said, turning his chair around, with the back of his chair facing Uther, looking at the ceiling for no good reason.

"Arthur, surely you know it's already past beyond working hours. You should be going home." Uther said, trying to convince him, knowing what was happening for the past five months, knowing that he was heart broken.

"And what's the point of going home, father? Can you tell me anything that I can look forward to when I go home? I'm absolutely sure she won't be there. When I come home, everything I see reminds me of her and every time that happens, I keep remembering how much pain I've caused her… that hurts too much." Arthur said softly, doing his best not to break into tears, again.

Uther sighed deeply as he walked towards Arthur, stopping when he came nearer, the desk serving as a barrier between them, putting his hands in his pocket.

"Arthur… I know how much Gwen means to you and that you know you've made a mistake. Even for quite some time, Tom and I've been disappointed in you for hurting her because she was, of course, his daughter and I also treated her like she was my own other than your sister. Until I knew that it was Agravaine who messed with your head… I realized that it wasn't your fault. You must realize that yourself." Uther said softly, trying his best to soothe his son, with nothing to see but the back of his chair.

Arthur pondered on everything that his father said for a while, slowly began turning around, to see his father looking back at him with such sympathy. Arthur then leaned his elbows on the table and put his head between his hands, looking down on the flat surface.

"I don't know what to do, father. I have no idea… what to do… I've hurt her so much..." Arthur said devastatingly and softly. And before he knew it, he felt his father's hand on his shoulder and he looked up slowly with tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Uther held his son's neck as a fatherly gesture and looked straight into his eyes, giving him a sad smile and sighed "My son is deeply in love. What could he do?... Mainly nothing" he said as he shrugged "… but I do know that he is a Pendragon… and I believe that this Pendragon is strong, there is nothing that he cannot handle. Most importantly… I truly think that in time… soon… everything will be all right." Uther said sympathetically and metaphorically, as he and Tom were already informed that Gwen was to come back in London. And with this, he nodded at his son and squeezed his shoulder, leaving him to let him think things through.

Arthur then stared hopefully at his father walking to the door. He raised his eyebrows as his father began to speak.

"Don't forget about the breakfast meeting we have tomorrow and last one out turns off the lights." Uther called as he continued to walk his way outside Arthur's office.

As Uther left the room, Arthur found himself smiling and chuckling slightly at his father's little humor. After a few moments, his phone began to ring and knew immediately that it was either Morgana or Merlin calling him, being used to the thought of them asking him how he is when his answers were always the same. Seeing Morgana as the caller, he groaned and swiped his phone, reluctantly answering the call.

"What is it, Morgana?" he asked lazily.

"Nothing much, just wanted to know where you are, that's all." Morgana says cheerfully, making Arthur confused and annoyed by her tone, as if she had something in mind.

"Really?... You're not going to ask me how my day was or anything like that?" Arthur asked her suspiciously.

"No! Of course not, I promise. So where are you exactly?" Morgana asked him with mischief.

Arthur sighed deeply, knowing that Morgana and the others would be upset but nonetheless said "I'm still at the office." with sadness flowing back in him, remembering again. He then heard Morgana sigh as if she was disappointed or lonely for him.

"Oh. Well, I just thought that I'd tell you something you might like to know." she said, mischief and cheerfulness back in her tone of speaking.

For a moment, he left his moment of sadness and went back to being confused and annoyed at his sister "And… what is it that I might like to know? If it's about your relationship with Gwaine, then I'd rather not-"

"Gwen just called." Morgana said quickly after she rolled her eyes at Arthur.

"What?" Arthur asked her, shocked and probably caught off guard.

"She said that she had an interview on a show called "The View" and it has a replay tonight so… it's up to you with what you're going to do with that information, okay?" Morgana said hastily with a smile as she talks to him.

Arthur furrowed his brows immediately with shock and said "What?! Morgana what are you-"

"Goodbye, Arthur. Take care!" Morgana said quickly and hung up, ignoring Arthur's reply to what she just said. Arthur heard the disconnection and looked at his phone before holding it back onto his ear.

"Morgana?... Morgana?" Arthur repeated annoyingly, being cut off by his words during the end of their conversation. He sighed deeply then put down his phone on his desk, leaning back again on his chair and began thinking.

_Did I really hear correctly? Morgana actually told me something about Guinevere. My Guinevere… at least she was. *sigh* Morgana's never told me anything about her since she left. What is she trying to say?_

Arthur wondered as he brought his attention to his laptop and quickly went into the streaming of the TV show. As he browsed the website, he sighed with relief that he didn't miss the show, it was just starting.

As he watches the introduction, he can't help being nervous about seeing her again, even if it wasn't personal. He suddenly thought of random things that could've happened since she left.

_Am I really that desperate to see Guinevere just because I'm nervous? Even if it's only on screen? It's been a really long time since I've seen her. It's been five months now, but it feels like I haven't seen her so much longer than that. I miss her so much. I miss her touch, her soothing words, I miss everything about her. I'm such a fool for letting her slip through my fingers. And it's all my fault. Now, all I ever think about is her. I think about how she's doing. I often wonder if she's met someone else. Someone who might be better than me. Someone who cares so much for her that he wouldn't leave her, ever. Someone who would never hurt her. Someone who isn't me. That's what would hurt me the most. Seeing her in another man's arms. I can't even bear the thought of it. But… seeing as it's my fault, I can't seem to blame her for choosing someone else. I'd give anything to have her back in my arms. If she ever comes back, I'd beg for her forgiveness and I would ask for another chance. Seeing her so successful right now makes me so proud of her, so happy for her. And I am truly happy for her, but I wouldn't know what to feel if she was seeing someone else._

As Gwen's name was being introduced, prompting her to finally make her appearance, Arthur held his breath and prepared himself in seeing her after such a long time and that he couldn't help feeling nervous, eager to see her face again.

Finally, after a few moments, she makes her appearance and the audience starts to applaud as she makes her way to the hosts. The hosts welcome her as they all sit down and begin their conversation. Arthur watches the full show although he only seems to stare at Gwen, not caring what the hosts were saying or what they were asking her. He only holds onto Gwen's every word.

_Guinevere looks even more beautiful than I remember. She looks so confident and sophisticated._

As the conversation progresses, he suddenly paid attention to the hosts because they now moved onto the guest's personal life, which involved her love life and career as a fashion designer.

They start talking about her career and suddenly Arthur was shocked and stunned to hear the words that came out of the conversation.

_"Actually, thanks to everyone who supported my endeavors for fashion designing, I'm about to open another boutique branch back home in London… maybe." Gwen says as the audience gives her a round of applause and she continues saying "Yeah, I'll be flying for London on Thursday night. I'll be there in time for a family-related charity gala on Saturday night so, it's good for socializing with people and to also be reunited with my family and friends. Spending time with loved ones and the like." Gwen finishes off with a smile._

_As the hosts listen to her, they give out the traditional "ooh's" and "aah's" and as she finishes her last statement of the hosts give out her excited "oohh" and suddenly asked her a question._

_"And speaking of loved ones, is there a special loved one we should know about? Either back home or someone you've met here in New York?" The host asks her coyly as some of the audience roar coyly with her._

_Gwen giggles at the question as she seems to think of what to answer._

_"Well, as much as I want to, I didn't really have enough time to do those kinds of things. I've just been really busy with my career and for now I'm just really looking forward to going home." She answered accompanied with disappointed "aww's" from the audience._

_Gwen laughed amusingly at them and answered quickly "But don't get me wrong. I've met new people and made really close friends while I was here, so who knows what might happen when I get back." she finishes as she giggled._

As Arthur continues to watch the interview, he seemed to be overwhelmed. At the same time, he was surprised by the fact that Gwen was about to go back to London and he was also relieved to hear that Gwen was unattached, which makes him nervous all at the same.

_Guinevere's coming back? But when? and why do I get the feeling that I'm the only one who knew just now. Morgana and the others must've known something. No wonder why Morgana sounded so giddy while we talked over the phone._ Arthur thought as he ran his hands on his face. His mind reverted back to the interview and as it finishes, he hung onto every word that Gwen said.

_"So when do you plan to come back after your visit from London?" one of the hosts asked._

_"Honestly, I'm not sure yet. As I've said before, I was thinking of opening another branch of my clothing line there so, I might be staying longer than I'd like to think… double purpose you know so, I might tag a friend along to help me decide." Gwen answers and smiles at them._

After seeing and hearing the interview, Arthur immediately got up from his chair and grabbed his keys, gathered his things and left the office as fast as he could.

_I have to know everything. What else have they not been telling me?_ he thinks as walked with speed. As he passed by the foyer, he reminds security to ensure that everything's settled as he leaves and went straight to the parking lot, got into his car and started to drive to Merlin's place.

_If they know something I don't, it will break me. This proves how much Guinevere doesn't want to see me. She doesn't want me to see her. Oh God, I hope it's not too late…_

* * *

As Arthur stepped on Merlin's house, he quickly knocked on the door. From the inside, as Merlin kept nagging Morgana for what she did, their argument was stopped by a constant banging on the door. Merlin realizes that it might be Arthur, looking over his shoulder and turns to Morgana.

"Do you hear that? That might be you brother knocking on the door, probably wanting to know what on earth is going on." Merlin continues, annoyingly rolling his eyes.

"Well, that's good. We're all here anyway, he's bound to know some time." Morgana says as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She then looked at the door and turned back to Merlin "I'll go let him in." she said as she started walking to the door.

Merlin looked as Morgana walked and a thought came to him.

_I gave Arthur back his spare key to my place, right?_

Merlin's thought was confirmed as Morgana stopped walking. Everyone turned to the door opening and in no time, barged in an overwhelmed Arthur.

"Guinevere's coming back and you all knew, didn't you?" Arthur asked immediately and devastatingly.

They all just stared guiltily at him, not knowing what to say.

Morgana looked at Arthur, his back facing her. "Arthur, maybe you should sit down for a while. We'll tell what you want know." she decides as Arthur flipped his head back at her, eyes searching for answers.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Presenting Chapter 6. Hope you're liking it so far and please review. Thanks :D**

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As Arthur sat down on the couch with Leon and Gwaine, Morgana sat down on the couch across him.

"If you must know, Gwen doesn't know that we're going to tell you this." Morgana started, crossing her arms again.

"So she really didn't want me to know anything?" Arthur muttered, looking down with his elbows leaning on his knees.

"That's what she wanted. We just respected her decision." Morgana answered and shrugged apologetically.

Arthur deeply sighed at the thought that that was how much Gwen didn't want to talk to him. As he sighed deeply, Merlin spoke up.

"Arthur, we're sorry but we couldn't do anything. She didn't want to be reminded about anything that lead to you. She just wanted to forget all the hurt she's been through." he said as he felt sympathy for his best friend.

"And all that hurt was because of me." Arthur contradicted and sighed deeply, not even bothering to look up at them.

By Arthur's statement, everything became extremely quiet again. After a few moments of looking at each other, eyeing one another of who should talk first, Gwaine decided to talk.

Gwaine patted Arthur's shoulder twice, gave it a squeeze and said "For what it's worth, princess, she gave us a call some hours ago. We could actually hear her worrying about you when she knew that you stayed in your office longer than you did." he stopped as he noticed Arthur's head snap in his direction, holding onto every word, looking at him intently, allowing him to continue.

"And after I said that you practically lived there already, the tone in her voice changed and she was like out of sorts, not knowing what to say next." Gwaine describes as he shrugs casually, looks at Arthur before continuing " She sounded really worried. All because we told her that you hadn't been home lately." he claps Arthur's back as he finishes before settling comfortably on the couch.

After hearing what Gwaine said, Arthur finally sat up and looked at them and asked "What's that supposed to mean?" hope fluttering from his voice.

"It means she still cares about you. Maybe she just doesn't want you to know that she may still care about you." Leon intercepted and smirked at Arthur, who glanced at him.

"He's right." Percival agreed from across.

Arthur looked intently at Merlin and Morgana, as if seeking confirmation that what they were saying is true.

Morgana nodded gently "It's true, Arthur. She's my best friend. I can tell that she was worried about you. And possibly disappointed when she knew you weren't going to be here tomorrow for the welcome party." she stopped talking and suddenly gasped lightly, realizing that she wasn't supposed to tell Arthur about the welcome party they set up for Gwen. Her eyes widen as internally winced, seeing how the others stared at her with wide, blaming eyes, as if telling her _"Great! Way to go Morgana. You had to go and say it out loud." _

"What?!" Arthur burst out asking, looking at all them, seeking an answer.

Merlin sighed deeply and rolled his eyes at Morgana, who was shaking her head slightly, keeping her hand on her mouth, as if preventing herself from saying anything private.

"Yeah, Gwen's going to stay at Morgana's place tomorrow while her place is being prepared. In that time, Morgana here," he said gesturing and glaring slightly at Morgana and continued "prepared a simple gathering for all of us." he said, staring at a devastated looking Arthur, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"But not including me." Arthur stated flatly, looking away as he shut his eyes tightly, readying himself to hear that Gwen didn't want him at the gathering.

Merlin looked at him, swallowing hard before saying "Yeah." quietly, looking at his hands, not knowing how to make Arthur feel better despite his situation.

They all felt sorry for Arthur that he's only knowing this now, but they knew that they had to do it, for Gwen's sake.

"Arthur… I'm sorry you had to know just now. It was Gwen. She didn't want you know anything that's been happening to her... Arthur, surely you have to understand what she's gone through and why she thinks this is for the best." Merlin said after a few quiet moments.

"I know." Arthur said reluctantly, looking down on his feet again. He knew that it was his fault on why Gwen didn't want to see him. He hurt her a lot and he understood that somehow.

"Arthur… we're going to tell her tomorrow, that you know everything." Morgana says directly to Arthur, deciding that they shouldn't have to hide it any longer.

Arthur looked up and slowly nodded. He gave a deep breath and stood up.

"I'm going home." Arthur said sadly and slowly walked to the door. They looked at each other and figured that it's probably for the best for them to let him be for a while after all that's been said. Morgana then looked back at the men before standing up and following his brother to the door.

She walks up to him, holds his shoulder and turns him around gently. She looks at him with sympathy, never feeling this bad for her brother. She holds both his shoulders.

"I'm sorry you had to know this way. If it wasn't for Gwen, you would've known a long time ago, I promise. Things have just been complicated." Morgana said, but anything she said seemed to not have an effect on Arthur as he just stood there, looking away, as if he was a vulnerable little boy about to cry.

She rubs his shoulders gently "Arthur, I know it's been hard for you, but I'm sure it's been hard for Gwen too. I can feel it. I know how you feel about Gwen and how she feels about you. Everything will turn up soon, don't worry." she tries again, seeing if it somehow encouraged him.

He slightly turns to her, looking her in the eye, his face softening. Morgana notices this, squeezes his shoulders and smiled gently at him.

"Everything will be fine, I can promise you that. Alright?" she asks him, hopefully seeking for a positive answer.

Arthur fully turns to her nodded slowly "Alright." he said reassuringly. They hug each other tightly and as they pull away, Arthur looks at her softly.

"Thank you, Morgs. This means a lot. And please… if you can, tell her I'm sorry." he softly pleads.

Morgana looks sincerely at him and nodded "Of course. You know you shouldn't have to ask." she says gently.

"I have to go." Arthur mutters softly.

"Are you going to be alright?" Morgana asked sincerely, a bit worried about what could happen when Arthur's mind is distracted.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm alright." he sighs deeply and assures as he rubs her shoulders gently. He hugs her goodbye and Morgana watches by the door as he drove away.

_We're all here for you, Arthur. Especially Gwen. You may not know just yet how much she cares about you but, we can feel it. After all this time… I know she still loves you._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! Just wanted to say that I'm really sorry it's taken this long for me to update when I said that I'd post them sooner. It's just that I've been sick for the past few days so I didn't have the energy but, anyway, now that I'm feeling much better and I'm about to go back to college again on the 18th, I'll try to do as many updates as I can before I can't again. As for those who knew about my story "Fight for Me", the updates will be up soon. I'm just making some last minute revisions. So, without further a do, here's Chapter 7! Thank you so much for writing reviews on the previous chapters. They really motivate me a lot :) and just the same on this update, please review and I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. Thank you! :D**

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This was it. It was the time when Gwen was finally coming back home. Presently, Morgana and Merlin are on their way to the airport to pick her up while the others are at Morgana's place, setting everything up for the welcome party. As Merlin was driving, he noticed that Morgana seemed to have something on her mind.

"Morgana." Merlin calls her attention as she stared at the window. Morgana heard him and turned to him.

"What?" Morgana asks.

"Are you alright?" he asks, noticing that she's been quiet since last night. Morgana casually shrugs.

"I honestly don't know, Merlin. I'm worried about Arthur. He's so much worse than he was before. It's like he was kept in the darkness for such a long time and he can't seem to find his source of brightness." she said sympathetically, thinking that Gwen might be Arthur's only hope in becoming his happy, contented self again.

Merlin sighs and glances at her before looking back at the road "Did you talk to him?" he asked.

Morgana sighed and nodded "Last night, before he left. I was talking to him and he was so devastated. I've never seen him like this before."

"That's because he's never been affected so much by anyone before. Not until he started to have feelings for Gwen." he stated casually, trying to keep the conversation on a positive level.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that he might not be able to move on from this. But at the same time, I feel that Gwen hasn't moved on too. I hear a bit of sadness in her voice every time I talk to her on the phone... It's so strange to think that both of your loved ones are badly affected by each other and you know there's nothing you could do." she said as she sighs deeply.

Merlin glances at her again and gave her shoulder a light squeeze, turning back at the road "It's going to be alright, Morgs. I'm sure they'll figure it out themselves. Maybe not easily, sure there'll be so many disasters ahead that neither of us could handle…" by this, Morgana smiles and chuckles lightly, shaking her head before he continued "but, they'll figure it out soon."

"Oh I'm sure they will." she responds knowingly, suddenly excited for what may come in the future. Merlin notices this and starts to panic.

"Oh no, I know that look. Whatever you're planning in your head, I'm telling you now, don't do it. You're going to get yourself in trouble." he tells her off, knowing that although in a good way, Morgana can be a mischievous, intriguing woman when it comes to planning something.

Morgana giggles lightly and looks at Merlin "What are you talking about?" she asks innocently and relaxed onto her seat, as if really certain that everything will turn out fine. Merlin gives her 'the look' again and she responds.

"And who said anything about doing it myself?" she said casually and stared out the window.

With her statement, Merlin widen his eyes, panicking inside as he continued to drive. He breathed deeply, as if trying to prepare himself.

_She's doing it again. *sigh* I'm not going to like this am I?_

* * *

As Morgana and Merlin were driving out to the airport to pick her up, Gwen, on the other hand, had been thinking about her conversation on the phone with her father the other night, staring blankly in space as she fiddled with the necklace around her neck, mostly holding its pendant.

_"Hey Dad." she answered while she was packing._

_"Hey Gwennie." he answered back, happy that he's able to talk to her. _

_Gwen automatically smiled as she hears her father's voice._

_"How are you doing?" she asked._

_"I think I'm supposed to be the one asking you that." he answered back with a chuckle._

_Gwen shook her head at his silliness. "Dad, really?" she asked, suspecting where the conversation could go._

_"I just miss my daughter, that's all." he said, hinting innocence in his voice. _

_"I'm fine… and you're not going to miss me any longer. I'm coming back remember?" she reminded._

_"I know. But five months have been too long for you to be away from your family." he answered back sincerely._

_"I know. I miss you too. That's actually why I'm going home." she answered, chuckling, keeping the conversation as normal as it can be, not leading into any serious kinds of conversation. _

_"Well, I'm glad that you'll be here, especially at the gala." he replied with a bit of excitement in his voice._

_"I'm looking forward to that too." she agreed. After a few silent moments, Tom became serious with his tone._

_"Seriously Gwen, how have you been?" he asked her, with a bit of worrying. Gwen sighed deeply._

_"Dad, I've told you many times before… I'm fine. I'm alright." she reassured him._

_"It's what you keep saying to me but it's not what I hear in your voice…" he told her directly. Gwen knew it was too good to be true that they'd be able to avoid talking about this. Gwen shut her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, stopping what she's doing and sat on her bed._

_"Dad… not this again. We've talked about it before. Don't worry about me." she said frustratingly, trying to hide the hurt that's starting to take over her. _

_"But I'm your father. You can't expect me to not worry about you…" he then sighed and continued "you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" he asked._

_Gwen nodded, even though Tom can't see her "Of course, Dad. I know." she said, calming herself. And after Tom had asked her something, she fell silent._

_"Does Arthur know that you're coming back?" he asked hesitantly. After breathing deeply, Gwen spoke._

_"No… he doesn't." she sighed then continued "but I assume, knowing Morgana… she might have told him. One way or another." she said, feeling that Arthur might know already… or if she's just imagining it._

_"Is he going to be at the gathering Morgana's arranged?" he asked._

_"I seriously hope not. Morgana's arranging everything, I don't know what to expect and what's going to happen." she said frustratingly._

_"Why didn't you want him to know?" he asked, thinking that his daughter might still be affected by Arthur._

_Gwen breathed inwardly "Dad-" she tried to reason._

_"I just want to know." Tom said firmly but with gentleness. Gwen sighed deeply._

_"I'm not ready to face him… I don't know what to do if I see him again… I'm worried and scared that if I see him- I..." she said as she stuttered, not being able to continue, disappointed in herself that she wasn't really able to move on while she was away. _

_"Oh, Gwen." Tom said, sighing and asked something harder for her to answer. By this time, tears were threatening to fall from her eyes._

_"You still love him, don't you?" he asked, knowing his daughter very well, that after all this time, she still cared for Arthur._

_Gwen closed her eyes and let her tears fall freely, realizing there's no point in lying to her father. At the moment, Tom took her silence as a "yes"._

_"Don't worry. It'll be our little secret." he said. Gwen chuckled slightly at his silliness as the tears continued to fall._

_"Gwen?" he called when it fell silent. She breathed deeply._

_"I'm here… it's just, this is all so confusing. I don't know what to feel anymore, Dad." she answered desperately, controlling her wobbly voice._

_Tom sighed, knowing that Gwen is still hurting from all that had happened._

_"It's going to be alright, Gwennie. I promise you, it will. And you seem to be forgetting something." he hinted. Gwen wondered._

_"What's that?" she asked._

_"We, Leodegrances always know what to do in the end. We never fail to know what we really want… and you're a Leodegrance. You'll figure it out. Soon you'll know what you really want." he encouraged._

_Gwen smiled "Thank you, Dad." she said, trying to stop her tears._

_"Anytime, sweetheart... Make sure to be safe on your trip." he reminded gently._

_"I will… I love you." she said._

_"I love you too. Try not to think about it too much alright?" he offered._

_"… Alright." she whispered. _

_With that, they said goodbye and she ended the call, finally letting her tears fall freely, remembering the hurt._

By this time, Gwen was being called out properly by the stewardess. She was patted on the shoulder twice, coming back to reality and looked up the stewardess.

"Excuse me, ma'am it's time for the passengers to get their belongings. We're arriving at the airport and the plane's about to land." the stewardess informed her nicely, seeing that she still had her seat belt on and her hand-carry still at the upper compartment.

"Oh. Thank you." she said and started to gather her things. As she kept herself busy, she ignored the negative thoughts coming into her mind and acknowledged the positive ones.

_I shouldn't worry about this. It's just Arthur. I doubt I'll see him very often. Of course he'll be busy and I'll be thinking about my clothing line so we'll both be busy. It'll be fine. I have a lot of catching up to do with everyone else. Sure, we'll see each other but it doesn't mean that I'll have to talk to him. We'll just keep it civilized and everything will be fine. I hope…_

As she goes out of the plane, she started to call Morgana, letting her know that she'll be out in a few minutes.

* * *

Standing by the arrival area, Morgana and Merlin were keeping an eye out, seeing if Gwen had already arrived somewhere. While they stood, Morgana gets a call from Gwen, saying that she'll be out soon. As the call finishes, Morgana turned to Merlin.

"Merlin, let's go. Gwen just called. She's here!" she said enthusiastically, wanting to see her best friend as soon as possible.

They both go nearer the department and after a while, Merlin smiled as he sees Gwen along with her bags, looking around for them. Merlin turns to Morgana and points to Gwen. They both see her, still looking and they both started yelling her name, waving their hands up so she could see them.

As Gwen wanders around, she hears someone call her and when she turned around, she smiled widely, seeing Morgana and Merlin calling and waving at her. She waves her hand once and runs toward them. Morgana and Merlin met her halfway and they all laughed happily together as they neared.

"Morgana! Merlin!" Gwen said excitingly, let go of her luggage and bag and immediately hugged them both. They hugged each other tightly and they stayed that way for a while. As they all pull away, Morgana spoke happily.

"Gwen! Oh my goodness! Look at you! You're so beautiful!" she said as she held Gwen's hands, looking at her wearing a gray sleeveless, semi-fitted jumpsuit that suited her curves matched with pumps and a cropped black leather jacket. After looking at what she's wearing, Morgana's eyes went to the silver-chained necklace on her neck, customized with a heart-shaped pendant with the letter "A" engraved onto it. She suddenly recognized that it was Arthur's gift to Gwen before they broke up, remembering that he showed it to her first before giving it to Gwen... although she wasn't going to mention it, not wanting to change the mood. Gwen giggled at what she said.

"Thank you. I'm so happy to see you… and you, Merlin, how are you? Morgana tells me that Freya's been keeping you on your toes." Gwen said teasingly as she turned to Merlin, playfully poking him at the side. Merlin chuckles.

"Ah, you know, when you know she makes you happy, then that's it for me." Merlin says happily.

Gwen smiles at him sincerely, trying not to think about a man she once dared to remember.

"Of course. I can see that nothing's changed much, has it?" she asks coyly. Morgana giggled.

"Oh I'm afraid so." Morgana agreed. "Come on. We have a welcome party to get to." she reminded happily.

They all chuckled, held onto Gwen's things and started walking to the parking lot.

"So, where are the others? And Dad and Uther?" Gwen asked as they walked.

"They're all at Morgana's place, waiting for you. They're all excited." Merlin coyly.

"I'm excited to see them too. Oh and Morgana, you will not believe the dress I made for you to wear at the gala tomorrow." she says excitingly as she turned to Morgana. Morgana simply smiled widely.

"Perfect. Then I'm sure Gwaine won't be able to stop looking at me." she said teasingly.

Merlin and Gwen looked at her with wide eyes and she laughed at them "What?" she asked innocently.

Merlin and Gwen just chuckled at her, shaking their heads.

After they made their way to the car and put the bags in the trunk, they all got settled as Merlin got on the driver's seat, Morgana on the front seat, and Gwen on the back seat.

"So… am I going to meet the lady loves tonight?" Gwen asked coyly.

Morgana and Merlin chuckled. "But of course, you are. They're all invited." Morgana regarded, smiling.

"I'm excited to meet them. I bet they're wonderful." Gwen stated.

"Well, they are." Merlin agreed as he drove. Gwen chuckled.

"Seems like someone's smitten." Gwen assumed.

"Oh I think all of them are, not just Merlin." Morgana said as she chuckled, glancing at a stupidly grinning Merlin.

"Does that mean you're smitten too, then?" Gwen asked her teasingly, knowing that in one of their late night phone calls, Morgana and Gwaine already said they love each other.

"Don't tease me, Gwen." Morgana scolded her playfully.

Merlin and Gwen chuckled, slightly shaking their heads. After a few moments of contented silence, Gwen started asking.

"So… is anyone else going to be there?" she asked them, not exactly sure if she'll have the answer she's looking for.

Morgana shrugged casually "Not really. It's just us … Why?" she looked back at her, wondering if Gwen was actually looking for Arthur, thinking that maybe she just doesn't want to say it.

Gwen smiled casually "Nothing much, just curious." she said and stared at the window.

Morgana watched her as Gwen stared out of the window. She then returned to her normal position, facing the front. She began thinking and glanced at Merlin, who looked at her too, seeming to think about the same thing and shrugged slightly at her.

_Should I say something? What if it just puts her off? *sigh* You haven't changed much Gwen. You're still the loving, caring, generous, kind, overthinking Gwen we all knew. _

After a few moments, Morgana decided to say something when she noticed that Gwen became quiet. She glanced at the rear view mirror, sneaking a peak at Gwen on what she's doing and she sees that Gwen is still staring out the window. If she looked closely, it's as if Gwen almost had tears on the brim of her eyes.

"Gwen?" Morgana called.

Gwen turned away from the window as she heard Morgana, sniffling a bit, hoping that Morgana or Merlin doesn't notice.

"Yeah?" she asked casually.

"Is everything alright?" Morgana asks gently.

_*sigh* Morgana noticed. Why did I have to think about HIM?... It's fine, everything is fine._

Gwen was silent for a few seconds and said casually "Of course. I'm fine… maybe just a bit tired.", trying to cover up what she's really thinking.

"Oh. Okay." Morgana said as she smiled and continued to glance at her every now and then through the rear view mirror.

"Um… Well, everyone is going to be at the party… of course, all except… you know." she said awkwardly but tried her best to sound casual.

As she says this, she thought that it might have been a wrong time to bring it up, knowing that Gwen's only just arrived. She shut her eyes and hoped that Gwen would say something.

"… except Arthur… I know." she heard Gwen muttered.

Morgana knew immediately that it was the wrong time through Gwen's voice. She glanced at Merlin, who stared at her and angled his head towards Gwen, as if telling her to do or say something. She then breathed deeply.

"Oh well, it's going to be fine. I'm sure we'll all have fun tonight. It's going to be great." she said too enthusiastically, trying her best to change the subject and mood around them. It seemed to have worked when she heard Gwen in a slightly cheerful tone.

"Of course." Gwen said. As the three of them went quiet, Gwen began thinking again, feeling like she's been betraying herself for wanting to see Arthur at some point.

_What is wrong with me? I was the one who didn't want Arthur to know about me coming back in the first place so, what's changed? Why did I seem so disappointed when I knew that I wasn't going to see him?*sigh* This is ridiculous. Is it because I miss him? Because I haven't seen him in five months? Because I long for him? Because I still lo- wait, what?! What am I saying?! This is not how it's supposed to be. I'm just here for my family and my business… that's it. Even if the family does include HIM, I'd just have to live with it and hope that we don't cross each other's paths that much. Even if-_

As she berates herself internally, Gwen's train of thought was interrupted by Merlin's voice.

"We're here. They all must be so excited to see you." he said cheerfully as he parked the car, trying to amp up the positive mood.

Gwen smiled casually "I'm really excited too." she said, honestly cheerful this time although hinting a tone in her voice that she was deep in thought.

"Let's go." Morgana said excitingly as she went out of the car.

Gwen waited after a few seconds, trying to compose herself. She shook her head slightly and started to go out of the car just as Morgana and Merlin were doing.

_Forget about it, Gwen. You're here to be with your family and friends. You're here to have a good time. You're here to be happy. And most of all… You are not here to get hurt by anything… and certainly not by anyone._


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys! it's me again! So yeah, just really want to say I'm sorry for making you wait this long. It's almost been a year since I've uploaded some chapters because believe it or not, college has been really keeping me very busy and I just got through a bunch of term papers and my finals last week so I didn't have the time to update. For those who are still keeping tabs on this story, you guys are the best! I can't thank you enough for being so patient in waiting for updates. It's just been really hectic so kindly bear with me but, I promise you, I have upcoming stories and updates for you all. Updates today will be until chapter 10 and the following chapters soon. Also, if any of you here are keeping tabs on my other story, Fight for Me, I'm also going to update that and I'm also going to post a new story... or two this Christmas so, I hope you enjoy reading those as well once I start to post them. Thank you all so much!**

**Sorry for the long message, I know you want to read the story already. So without further a do, here's chapter 8. Please review and hope you enjoy it ;)**

* * *

_*sigh* so this is it… this day has finally come. The day the only woman I ever loved is going to be back and there's nothing I can do but sit here in this pub and nurse this hell of a drink. What is this, my third or fourth? Honestly I don't care. She's probably arrived already and on her way to Morgana's place for the gathering… Guinevere. The one who has my heart under lock and key. The one whose feelings I hurt… and I hate myself for that. I miss her so much. I want to go there and tell her how sorry I am. I want to tell her how wrong I was for hurting her, for letting her go… I want to tell her how much I love her, how I never stopped loving her ever since she left. I just want her to come back to me. *breathing deeply*_

As Arthur sits in a corner, contemplating on the past and present, his thoughts were then interrupted by a phone call. As he stared into space, he lets go of his drink, acknowledges his phone and looked at the caller ID. He shrugged at it but answered the call.

"Hello?" he answered in an almost drunken-state-like voice.

* * *

As they go in, Gwen was instantly met by a group of people with open arms, waiting for a group hug.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed as she hugged them all, laughing in joy.

As they all pulled away, they started to converse.

"Ah the Miss New York finally arrives." Gwaine says teasingly as he bows down and takes her hand, kissing it. He then stands and winks at her.

Gwen giggles amusingly and said "Nice try, Gwaine. Better luck next time because your girlfriend is actually right here." she warned as she noticed that he suddenly became a bit serious, turning to Morgana with her raised eyebrows, although obviously amused by his actions.

"Well, of course I was just welcoming you home. Where as I," he says as he pulls Morgana into his arms and looks at her "I was just saving my best time for this very beautiful woman." he smirks at her.

"Oh really?" Morgana says sarcastically as she brings her arms around his neck.

"Why? Wasn't I giving you most of my time last night?" he coyly whispers as he wiggled his eyebrows at her and smirked.

Morgana giggles knowingly "Oh yes." she mutters as she leans in and kisses him softly.

Just as their kiss lingered, the others groaned and walked away rolling their eyes or shaking their heads while Gwen clears her throat looking at them expectantly.

"You do know I'm still here right?" she asked as she stared at the couple, who looked back at her a bit embarrassingly as they pulled apart.

"Of course. Come on, let's go get some drinks." Morgana happily said as they went to the mini bar after she whispered to Gwaine "I'll be back for you later." seductively.

* * *

In the other side of the city, Arthur receives a call from Merlin and answered.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Arthur?" Merlin said back.

"Merlin." he muttered, sighing deeply "is she there with you?" he asked hesitantly, wanting to hear the confirmation that Gwen was indeed back in London. He then hears Merlin sigh and answered

"Yeah, she is. We just got here at Morgana's." he whispered.

Arthur knew that his heart just leapt out of his mouth though he dared to say something further.

"Please, Merlin. I have to see her. I _need _to see her. I just… I just have to let her know how sorry I am. She has to hear it from me." he said desperately.

On the other side of the line, Merlin was panicking and at the same time worrying as he realized that Arthur may be drunk.

_Damn it! He's drunk. May be not that drunk but he's not sober either. _Merlin breathed deeply.

"Arthur, you're in a pub. I can hear it. You've been drinking haven't you?" he asked knowingly.

He hears Arthur sigh "Yes, I have but you know I'm not drunk, Merlin. I still know what I'm talking about." he admitted.

"Yes, but you and I both know you're not sober too." Merlin stated.

He hears Arthur sigh again, deeply this time "Well, what was I supposed to do, Merlin? Be happy even though she's here, knowing that I can't even see her? Because you have no idea how I'm feeling right now." he answered begrudgingly.

Merlin groaned then reluctantly comes to a decision and said.

"Fine. Don't move. Just stay where you are, I'll be there in a few minutes." he instructed and hung up the phone. As he walked to the door, he passed by Leon, who noticed that he was about to leave.

"Hey, Merlin. Going somewhere?" Leon asked as he took a swig of his beer.

Merlin then turned back and looked at Leon "Uh… yeah, it's…"

Just as Merlin hesitated, it suddenly dawned on Leon and didn't need his suspicions to be confirmed.

Leon sighed and knowingly said "He's been drinking hasn't he?" looking him in the eye.

"Yeah… and he's begging me to take him here." Merlin muttered.

Leon's eyes went wide slightly "We both know you can't do that. If Arthur's been drinking all night then that could lead to a disaster." he stated. Knowing Arthur almost all his life just as Merlin, he thought it best if Arthur stayed away for now, especially now that he has alcohol in his system.

Merlin scoffed "I know. But even if I take him home, we both know it won't stop him…" Leon sighed as he listened "… it's going to be fine. I'll just have to take him here and sneak him into the guest room. This place is huge. Gwen doesn't have to know." he whispered confidently.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Merlin." Leon said and walked away, buying time for Merlin to leave without being seen.

* * *

In another corner of Morgana's place, Gwen finally had the chance to talk to the ladies who had kept her friends on their feet while she was away.

"You know, it's finally nice to meet you all. I've never seen the blokes acting like this before. I mean, they're always lively and cheerful but now… it's like a new light has been shed onto them. They look like they're happily contented. And I want to thank you all for that. I always thought they deserve to be happy." Gwen reminisced.

"Oh well then, you're very welcome, Gwen. And it's finally nice to meet _you. _I mean the lads never fail to talk about how kind, sweet, and beautiful you are and how you always tend to think of others than yourself and they say most of the time you think about them. We have to admit, everything they say is true. Especially when it comes to the lads." Mithian teased, now comfortably talking to her after realizing that Gwen was such an easy person to talk with.

Freya and Elena chuckled at their agreement with Mithian muttering "Yeah."

"Well, I do consider them as my family so, I think you could say that Morgana and I have been the wise sisters they never had since uni." Gwen retorted and giggled. The women giggled with her and they all pause to take a sip of their drinks.

"Oh, excuse me ladies, Percy's calling for me." Elena excused as she went toward Percival, who was holding out his hand as soon as she was near him.

"Me too. Just going to the loo." Freya muttered as she went her way.

And there was just Gwen and Mithian.

"So Gwen, how was your life in New York?" Mithian asked.

"Oh well, you know. Most of the time it's been boring really. If it wasn't for my career, the thought of me leaving would've just been a waste of time." Gwen said casually and both of them chuckled at her statement.

"Come on, there must've been something. Oh, has any men took you fancy?" Mithian asked excitingly.

"No, not really. It's just all about work for me while I was there." Gwen muttered, a bit nervous now that this conversation could lead to something she wouldn't like to talk about.

"Really?..." Mithian asked, unconvinced.

"Yeah, I know. It's unbelievable. I just never had the chance to meet someone else, you know." Gwen said casually.

This made Mithian confused, as if she'd heard it before but from someone else. Her narrowed eyes widen slightly.

"I have to admit, it's funny you should say that. I just remembered someone else saying something like that. In fact I think I've heard it just a few days ago." she said smiling slightly to herself in confusion.

"Really?" Gwen asked confusingly.

"Yeah. It was just after a lunch meeting when Uther and my father were still talking and Leon had gone back to work… " Mithian muttered, still deep in thought.

"Oh now I remember, it was Ar-"

"Arthur?" Gwen asked as she finished Mithian's sentence for her. Mithian looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah it was Arthur. Must be a coincidence, then. How did you know?" she asked curiously.

Just then, Gwen was stunned into silence and she felt as if everything that Mithian said was a big revelation. Gwen realized she was looking at nothing and cleared her throat.

"Oh I- I just… It was just a guess." Gwen muttered.

"Oh… well you know, I was wondering why he's not here." Mithian replied. She then noticed that something changed in Gwen, who was in a joyful mood when she came in and now suddenly gloomy and quiet.

Elena and Freya just sat down again at their corner with new drinks in hand.

"So, what did we miss?" Freya asked as she settled down in her chair.

"If you would excuse me, ladies. I- I think I need some air." Gwen muttered softly as she started to get up and walk to the door, leaving a group of confused and concerned women.

* * *

As Gwen, walked to the door, she bumps into Leon and Gwaine.

"Hey Gwen. Where are you going?" Leon asked, noticing her distracted demeanor. Gwaine, on the other hand, also noticed Gwen acting in a different manner and got a little concerned.

"Hey. I um… I just need to go outside for a moment, I won't be long." Gwen muttered looking at them plainly.

"O-kay. Are you all right, Gwen?" Gwaine asked as he reached out to lightly squeeze her shoulder.

"I'm fine, don't worry… If you'll excuse me." Gwen as she softly patted Gwaine's hand and went on her way out of the penthouse.

Leon and Gwaine watched Gwen walk away and turned to look at each other, as if they were thinking the same thing.

_What happened?_

Gwaine apparently shrugged it off and walked to Morgana and Leon then tried to find where Gwen came from before she left and he sees the confused looking women at a corner. His eyes met with Mithian's and gestured for her to come over.

_I wonder if they talked about something that might've made Gwen upset._

* * *

Gwen was finally outside, alone in the hallway, being able to think for herself as she leant heavily on the wall.

_Why did I even mention his name? Why can't I get him out of my head?! … Damn it! I knew it. I knew that if I came back, everything was going to come back to me. The awkwardness, the hurt, the lies! … and unfortunately the love I had for Arthur. It all came back to me. Ugh! Who am I kidding? If I see him again, I'm done. _

She thought as she banged her head to the wall repeatedly with her eyes shut tightly.

"Guinevere?"

And Gwen slowly opened her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Here's chapter 9! Hope you enjoy it and please review. Thank you :)**

* * *

As Merlin was driving a few blocks from Morgana's place to the pub Arthur was in, he suddenly thought to himself.

_Yup, I'll be in trouble for this. But come to think of it, when am I never in trouble? *sigh* time to see how Arthur's doing._

Merlin arrived at the pub and went in, immediately looking around for Arthur. After turning his head around, he finally sees him, seated in a bar stool with his head lying flat on the counter table, gesturing to the bartender for another drink. Merlin breathed deeply and started walking toward him. Arthur sees him and as he was within reach, Arthur suddenly grabbed a shocked Merlin's shirt collar.

"Take me to her, Merlin. Please." Arthur said desperately. Merlin looked at him with sympathy.

_I've never seen him like this. This is not good._

Merlin raised both his arms as if he was held at gun point.

"Hey! Arthur calm down. And take your hands off my collar." he said as he removed Arthur's arms from his shirt.

Arthur looked at him pleadingly and sighed deeply, returning to his seat and his waiting drink. He then rested his elbows upright on the table and buried his head in them.

"I miss her so much, Merlin. I don't know what's happening." Arthur whispered sadly.

_You're just a lovesick fool._

Merlin came to him and put his hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"I know." he said plainly. "But we both know you're not in the proper state to see anyone at the moment…" he muttered and reluctantly continued after sighing "so I'm taking you to Morgana's." he muttered.

Arthur looked up and turned to Merlin "What did you say? We're going to Morgana's?" he asked, not daring to hope but he can't seem to help it. Merlin noticed his eyes light up a bit but he refused to encourage it.

"Yes, but not in the way that you think." Merlin said firmly.

"But I'm going to see Guinevere." Arthur retorted to himself. Merlin widen his eyes.

_Oh no. That's not why I'm taking you there. Maybe Leon was right. _Merlin thought, starting to regret his decision.

"Arthur, no. I'm only driving you to Morgana's because we both know that you'll continue drinking at your place, you always have dozens of beers stacked up in your fridge and there's no way those stacks will be emptied into your system… Morgana doesn't know this but, I'm going to sneak you into the guest room so please, don't do anything reckless, just do as I say and we'll be fine." Merlin advised and helped Arthur to stand up as he put Arthur's arm over his shoulder.

* * *

The drive was eerily quiet and Merlin was somewhat confused why Arthur just agreed with Merlin. After a few minutes, they finally arrive and Merlin couldn't get any more nervous than what he was feeling right now. Arthur on the other hand, despite Merlin's warning, he can't help feeling eager to see Guinevere even if he knew that she shouldn't be seeing him.

They both went out of the car and walked toward the building into the elevator. As they waited for their floor, Merlin was helping Arthur maintain his upright posture.

"I always wonder how she's doing." Arthur muttered unconsciously. Merlin looked at him, feeling sorry for him.

"You and me both, Arthur. All of us wonder how she's been." Merlin muttered back. They arrive on their floor and as the doors slide open, they go out to see that Gwen was actually outside, alone in the hallway. Merlin panicked and looked at Arthur hanging on his shoulder looking down thankfully then to Gwen who was leaning on the wall with her eyes closed.

"Arthur, come on we have to go." Merlin said quickly as he started dragging Arthur back into the elevator but unfortunately, it was useless because Arthur didn't even move no matter how hard he tried.

"What are you talking about? I thought I was staying here?" Arthur asked as he looked up at him. He just stared at Merlin for a moment and looked away, only to realize that the one he's been waiting to see was standing right in front of him. He walked away from Merlin, who was trying every bit to stop him but he couldn't.

Arthur slowed down once he was near enough and stared at her before speaking up.

_It's her. It's actually her. I can't believe it. _

"Guinevere?"

* * *

Gwen suddenly stopped hitting her head to the wall as she heard an all-too familiar voice saying her name. She slowly opened her eyes and turned to where she heard the voice and found herself looking at the man who caused her to leave five months ago.

_I must be dreaming. It's not him. I'm just imagining this. But why can't I look away? Why do I feel like it is him? I'm seeing his tired eyes and his unruly hair that I just want to sweep away from his forehead with my fingers._

"Arthur." Gwen whispered to herself.

And before she knew it, Gwen was pulled into Arthur's embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around her, with his head buried deep in the crook of her neck. After realizing it, she then found herself wrapping her arms just as tightly as Arthur.

_It's her. I missed her so much. I'm never going to let go this time._

_It's him. I missed him so much. I didn't know just how much until I was in his arms._

At that moment, Gwen knew it was happening even though she was still shocked but, she couldn't find it in herself to pull away. She let herself savor the moment as it was happening. She hears Arthur whisper soft words and constant apologies into her neck. But reality had to come back to her when the door suddenly opened to a slightly worried Morgana, obviously looking for Gwen.

"Gwen?" she called as she opened the door. At this moment, the surprise seemed to be on her when she sees that Gwen was not alone. She was with the person she said she didn't want to see, but here she was, letting him hold her in his arms. Morgana's eyes fully widened and panicked the same way Merlin did a while ago. Soon, the panicking also turned into annoyance, anger, and frustration as she knew exactly the one who was responsible for this situation.

_Merlin. I can't believe he let this happen! He has a lot of explaining to do._

"Arthur?!" Morgana called loudly in disbelief. By her voice, Gwen was able to snap out of her stupor and pull away from him, stunned and shocked by all that's happened.

Gwen looks at Arthur, then Merlin and Morgana, who looked at her with apologetically and sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, I just need to go outside." Gwen muttered breathily as she walked in a quick pace, wrapping her arms around herself as if she wanted to be protected. She then hears Morgana calling her but she didn't care. The elevator doors slide open and she went in without hesitation.

And then there were the three of them. After realizing that Gwen was leaving, Arthur wanted to follow her but he was stopped by Morgana, who pushed him hard on the wall.

"But Guinevere-"

"No, Arthur! You shouldn't even be here in the first place. Stay right there! I mean it." Morgana hissed.

She then turns to glare at Merlin and soon he found himself being dragged away by the arm. Morgana continued to drag him until she thought they were at a good distance away from Arthur as she stopped. She glared at him for a moment then she hit him hard on the arm.

"Ow! That hurt!" Merlin complained.

"Oh, it's not like you didn't deserve it. Start talking! How did this happen?! Tell me what the hell is Arthur doing _here_?!" she whispered menacingly, looking him straight in the eye.

"He was drinking, Morgana. I couldn't take him to his place because you and I both know he's going to start drinking again, so I thought I'd sneak him into your guest room and hope that none of you noticed." Merlin whispered exasperatingly, glancing back to make sure if Arthur was still there.

"You were going to sneak him into my place without so much as telling me?! He's my brother for crying out loud, I had the right to know! And you actually think none of us will notice? Well, thanks to you, the one person who shouldn't have noticed him _the most_, turned out to be the first one to see him! What were you thinking?" Morgana retorted frustratingly.

Merlin sighed deeply and looked at Morgana "I was thinking that he needed a friend. He needed someone to look after him while he was drowning in his own misery. He's my best friend, Morgana. You can't expect me to sit around and do nothing while we celebrate here knowing that he's alone, thinking that he has no one to hold onto since Gwen left." Merlin muttered.

Morgana's expression softened and looked at Merlin. They stare at each other in silence for a moment the Morgana sighed.

_He's right. He always was. I was just doing the same. I was sticking out for Gwen, my best friend. _

"I completely understand, Merlin, you know I do. Arthur's my brother and I love him more than anything in this world. But I have a best friend, too. I'm just looking out for Gwen, like you've been doing for Arthur. " Morgana softly said.

"How long was he at the bar?" she whispered after a moment.

"Long enough, I think. He's drunk but not that drunk. He still knows what he was doing… and what you saw just now, I didn't mean for that to happen but when she hugged him back… I was surprised too." Merlin said back softly.

Morgana nodded her head and replied "I know… maybe Arthur wasn't the only one who's been miserable for the past few months after all." she concluded. They both went silent for a moment and looked at each other with sympathy. She clears her throat.

"I have to go find Gwen. You go and take Arthur into the guest room, and try to not let people see him like this. Just explain everything he needs to know. There's no use in hiding it now anyway. I'll handle everything else, alright?" Morgana muttered as she glanced back at Arthur, who was now seated miserably on the floor. She turns back to a solemnly nodding Merlin and gave his shoulder a squeeze before heading to the elevator.


End file.
